Updated for 2022: Fly fabric is now 20D silicone coated, both sides, polyester (“silpoly”), pressure rated to over 3,000 mm, for sag-free performance.
The patented StratoSpire 2 is the two person version of the StratoSpire 1. For trekking pole users, this shelter is a gem: save weight and use your trekking poles for a strong, wind and snow stable setup. The StratoSpire’s unique, patented design gives an unprecedented amount of living and vestibule space, perfect for extensive gear and bike storage.
Going solo? Have a look at the StratoSpire 1.
Want incredibly light? Have a look at the StratoSpire Li.
Your order includes:
- StratoSpire 2 fly
- Mesh or solid interior
- Six 8” aluminum stakes + stake bag
- Silpoly stuff sack
mlamb (verified owner) –
Have owned a Double Rainbow since 09 but decided to upgrade to the Strato… I watched the set up video several times and cold easily set the Strato in the flat yard but had trouble setting it in a smaller area that needed a perfect alignment for fit and comfort – it was alway askew. I would not take the tent backcountry and was ready to replace it when I thought, well, the video can’t be the only way to set it. My simple answer was to reach under the fly, square and stake out the four corners of the inner body (with a bit of slack in the strut corner guys), put a pole in one side and stake it out, then do the other side, adjust the guys and viola you’re done. Maybe everyone else has already figured this out – it’s fast, easy and sets more like a trad tent. It changed my opinion from not liking the tent to being very happy with it. Yay!
jeff foreman (verified owner) –
Some tents like MSR and Sling Fin have sex appeal. ‘Tarpent’ for its part offers understated mystique-and that’s a good thing. My first impression of the tent was really my first impression of the company when the owner answered emails the same day on more than one occasion with questions I had. My second impression was out in the field on two occasions this past summer and fall(2020) at Berg Lake back-country. The tent definitely takes some getting used to when setting up, because of course it is not freestanding. Once up, she is a beauty to behold. I personally recommend setting four stakes, two left of each opening away from the strut side before propping in your hiking poles. In one instance, I found tree branches and chopped them to mid-body height and voila. The tent sheds water as expected and is not noisy in the rain for me. I will sleep through storms though at home. Many You Tube reviewers who venture into the back country describe the interior of this 2 person tent as voluminous! I don’t entirely agree. For me solo or with my wife it was perfect. The vestibules are ideal as well. I don’t find them too big or cumbersome at all. The struts are a beautiful concept and make it easier when rolling up the tent when you fold the tent to double up the struts in a single bundle in order to roll up the overall tent body. See company video. My only minor constructive feedback for the company regarding this tent include the following: 1)Please replace those difficult clip/hooks on the ceiling for a carabiner internal spring loaded style. I really fought with these clips at times. The open design is fine for entry-but exit can have you cursing. 2) I am 6:1 and that isn’t tall in my opinion and my nose was within an inch of the inside-wall of the tent when I stretched out. The sides that seem to hang lower are kitty-corner from each other by virtue of the hexagonal design. I would like to see some additional internal guy points between the fly and the body 3) The entry needs to be 3-4″ inches higher at center. I repeatedly draped my neck across the door panel when it was damp in the morning. Unavoidable. I wonder how much more resilient the walls of the tent would be to wind and rain if the height of the tent and thus the steepness of pitch were increased? My wife who is 5:8 also expressed the same desire to see the entry way elevated. Of note: the pegs are not as tough as the MSR pegs I purchased for more guying. I went with the ‘Groundhog’ style which works great. A cheap add on to existing stakes(8 in total). Should add that the ground in these Rocky Mountain tent sites is rock hard for the most part. All in all, I am loving this tent and especially given Tarptent made changes for 2020 and take feedback from customers. I love smaller companies like this and will always support them so long as they retain their ethics and good customer service!
Mike –
Finally got a chance to test out our new stratospire 2 tent last weekend. Camped above 10,000 ft in the Eastern Sierra And experienced 60+ mph winds throughout the night and the tent handled great. We were very worried since this was our first time using a non free standing tent. After our experience I am confident in the tent design as long as you choose a good tent location and set it up correctly. Plenty of room for two adults and a dog + huge vestibules for gear.
Joe –
I am from Northern Minnesota and do most of my camping out of a canoe. For years I used a beefy double wall tent. I was looking for a light weight alternative that packs better. My main concern switching to a single wall was condensation build up, since I am almost always camping by water. For this reason, I purchased the double rainbow with the liner and the ground tarp.
This tent was one of the best gear purchases I have ever made. Over the past year I camped in rain, wind, hail and snow. The double rainbow always keeps me dry. After a long day paddling and portaging in the rain it’s great to know I have a dry tent to come home to. Given the terrain I’m in I almost always get condensation inside the tent but it’s manageable with the clip-in liner. One trick I’ve learned is to wipe down the walls with a small micro fiber towel before exiting the tent each morning. The tent sleeps two comfortably; it’s more than enough room solo camping. The vestibules provide enough room to keep a pack dry on each side. The best parts for me are how well it packs and how quickly I can set it up. It only takes 5-10 minutes once you have it down.
Although I haven’t had a problem in 60+ nights in the bush, I am scared about how thin the material is, particularly on the bathtub. For peace of mind I would not pitch this tent without a ground tarp, although I have a friend who does and he hasn’t had any issues.
I give this tent 5 stars. It’s awesome. I love that’s made in the USA and I love how responsive the tarptent team was answering questions when I was picking the tent out. Awesome company, awesome product! Cheers from MN!
tmnolte (verified owner) –
Completely and incredibly happy.
Roomy, durable, lightlweight.
Wife and I are both 5’8″, we can sit up comfortably in the tent and though we use narrow sleeping pads, there remains ample floor space for wide pads and plenty of room to spare. The hexagonal shape of the fly at first seems unruly, but it is a small sacrifice to make because the vestibules are massive. The design to make more space is clever and as others have said, it took me some time to get accustomed to pitching. I blame rocky Texas soil for that, but still it’s something akin to patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. After a first couple of attempts it becomes second nature and my everyone who has seen it is impressed at the space it creates.
The tent has seen use in heavy thunderstorms and pouring rain and held up perfectly. The small leaks it had were my own doing as I did not seal a seam adequately though Tarptent gave clear instructions. I would pay for them to do it next time. The tent was also used in the scorching Texas heat and while there is little that can be done to avoid it, opening both vestibules markedly helped. As a last resort, removing the fly was easy to do.
The only I noticed that can be considered a minor inconvenience is that is that there are no internal gear pockets.
If you’re on the fence about the Stratospire 2, don’t be. It’s brilliant.
Shane Watts –
I own multiple Tarptents and have taken my Stratospire 2 on dozens of backpacking trips. I like it, but don’t love it. To know if this is the right tent for you, you need ot understand its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s my take:
PROS:
– Good quality
– Lots of usable floor and vestibule space
– Very versatile
– Stable in moderate winds
– Fits three, especially if some are smaller (downright roomy for two)
– Relatively lightweight for the floor and vestibule space you get
CONS
– As other reviewers have noted, this tent has a BIG footprint. On multiple occasions I’ve had difficulty finding a backcountry tent site big enough to pitch this space hog. Unless floor and vestibule space are a top priority, I’d consider other Tarptent models.
– It’s not mindlessly easy to setup relative to other tents (or Tarptents), even after a lot of practice.
– It’s challenging to get the tent direction exactly right, even after a lot of practice. Most backcountry tent sites have some sort of slope to them, and I like to pitch my tent head-to-toe relative to any incline. With most tents, this is easy. Not so with the Stratospire 2. Using the recommended pitch technique (which really is the best way), I usually end up 10-15 degrees off my desired line, meaning I’m sleeping at an odd angle to the slope. Adjusting the pitch is not easy, as it involves unstaking/restaking. I’ve developed my own pitch technique that usually allows me to nail the angle the first time. The question is, do you want to be developing techniques or thinking/working hard just to pitch your tent in a certain direction?
John Watkins (verified owner) –
Best Tent Ever! We bought this tent because we were going to walk the Cape Wrath Trail, a 230 mile route (a good portion of it is not really any kind of trail at all; it’s not waymarked; it’s often across trackless moor, bog, rocky ridges; it rains almost every day at least part of the day; it’s very windy and exposed… you get the idea) in far northwest Scotland. It starts in Fort William and ends at the farthest northwest point in Scotland, Cape Wrath. We have backpacked extensively in the US (Sierra, on and off trail; SW canyons, on and off trail; NE mountains; etc.) and trekked in Europe (Corsica, Dolomites, Mt. Blanc), and used every means of shelter from old fashioned heavier double wall tents, to silnylon tarps. The Tarptent Stratospire 2 is hands-down the absolute best tent we have ever used. In Scotland it was easy to set up in rain and wind (once you get used to the right sequence of steps), and lovely to have the tent inside the fly to keep it dry during setup in the rain. It has immense vestibules for wet gear and for cooking in bad weather. It sheds wind really well. It is cozy and warm, especially with the 3/4 solid side tent version. It does have a somewhat larger footprint than other tents, but the space you get is worth it. We love it!
Gary Tongco –
Bought the Stratospire 2 to use on a 3 day 2 night trip on the Teton Crest Trail with my two daughters. It was a good excuse to tell my wife we needed a light weight tent that could sleep three. We slept 3 in the tent comfortably. Had lots of room in the vestibules for our gear. With the big vestibules, comes a big foot print. But the vestibules are worth it. The first time set up was a bit of a pain, but with some practice, could get is set up quickly. Looked at this tent for 2 years before the purchase. Should have bought it sooner.
Kevin Hansen –
I’ve owned my Stratospire 2 for 4 or 5 years now. Just returned from spending a week in northern MN in the BWCAW. Each time I use my Stratospire Tarptent I’m amazed at its simple, efficient, sturdy design. Every time I crawl inside I lay there and admire the thought that went into its design.
Thanks for making a great product, and please keep up the good work.
Keith –
Name a tent that has a better liveable space (floor space and height), is double-walled, vertical sidewalls, that has 2 doors and 2 vestibules that are MASSIVE, and comes from a company with friendly and supportive customer service all at under 2.6lbs? I don’t think you can.
This tent is an outlier. Perfect for two people and a dog. Dry entry since the vestibules are massive, you can change out of your wet gear before you get in. Very storm worthy and very adaptable to any conditions be it hot, rainy, snowy, sunny, etc. The asymmetrical design allows for a roomy interior with poles are away from the door. Most tents with trekking poles have the trekking pole split the door and get in the way of your entry. Not this tent!
The things I don’t like: not “stuffable”, or in other words it has struts that make it difficult to stuff in a stuff sack or backpack. The struts are not easily removable to allow for this AND even if there were, there are 4 of them to deal with. Also, with the asymmetrical design, I always have a hard time knowing where foot and head of the tent will end up lol. It is not that intuitive but I get better after every setup so no stars lost there.
Kjell Forssen (verified owner) –
I thought my Scarp 2 was the best tent that could be made – until now! The Stratosfire 2 has all that Scarp 2 has and large vestibules as an extra feature. My all time favorite from first second.
A little bit tricky to pich but I will soon get the hang of it.
Hannah (verified owner) –
We used this tent for a month of very rainy Spring in New Zealand while hiking and car camping. We chose the 1/2 solid + 1/2 mesh interior to have a bit more warmth during windy gales. The tent worked great, despite the condensation typical of NZ climate. We would unclip the interior each morning to keep it dry. Then towel down the fly to get it as dry as possible before packing it separately. It does require a larger ground space than most 2-man tents but it was never difficult to find such space. It was great to have the extra space to prep and eat meals inside the fly during the deluges. We own several other name-brand tents and the quality of workmanship on this Tarptent is much higher.
Kevin (verified owner) –
The Pros: This thing is light and durable. I take care of my gear, but the quality materials of this tent give me the confidence it can take the worst of beatings. I saw what it was capable of. I got caught in a hail storm at 10k feet along a mountain ridgeline. I pitched the tent and used the extra guyline points to secure it with larger stakes I purchased separately. It rained all night and wind blew by at speeds of 75 MPH. The tent shrugged it off with ease. If you plan on using it in severe cold I recommend the solid interior. The mesh interior is no joke – it really is bug proof and VERY breathable. This tent is also very roomy. I usually go solo and the single version is probably all you need. I decided to get the double so I can accommodate a friend or partner when needed.
Cons: The tent can be rough to pitch. I can see how this can be a pain if you find yourself in areas where space and ground become tricky. However, this is overcome with experience.
Kevin English –
Just got back from 3 nights in the Ishi Wilderness where we had the chance to test out the Stratospire 2 in wind, rain, hail, and snow. It was amazing! Worked so well I think my friend who already owns the Hogback is going to get the Stratospire also. If you are interested in any photos of the tent in the field let me know what size and I can email them to you.
Thanks again from a happy customer,
Kevin English